Funko Bulls, Free Agent DeMar, and Other Bulls Bullets
Funko MJ (and Benny!), DeMar Hits the Market, Schedule Release, and Other Bulls Bullets
Aug 06, 2026
Aug 06, 2026
Chicago Bulls
© Anne Ryan-USA TODAY
Our Chicago Bulls could still opt to fill their 15th standard roster spot as they approach training camp next month. Alternatively, they could keep it open as a slot to take back an extra player in a trade.
The Bulls’ potentially underrated starting five appears to be fairly set, but there are several intriguing free agents still on the board who could fit the developmental timelines of 20-year-old rookie power forward Caleb Wilson and 21-year-old third-year small forward Matas Buzelis.
For now, the two mechanisms Chicago executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham has at his disposal are a $9.4 million room exception and the veteran’s minimum. That likely won’t be enough to poach restricted free agents Bennedict Mathurin or Peyton Watson away from their current clubs (to say nothing of All-NBA Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren, who’s almost definitely off the board for the Bulls). Chicago would likely need to get creative to sign-and-trade for these younger pieces.
Meanwhile, several former All-Stars (many with previous Bulls experience) remain very much on the free agent board — although none of them make sense for Chicago right now.
Bulls Bullets — August 6, 2026
- The NBA is slated to announce its entire schedule for the forthcoming 2026-27 season next week, sources inform Marc Stein of The Stein Line. For now, all Bulls fans know is our five-game preseason schedule.
- Free agent former six-time All-Star Bulls swingman DeMar DeRozan, most recently with the Sacramento Kings, has yet to land on his next team. One day shy of his 37th birthday, the durable former three-time All-NBA honoree has been linked to the Miami Heat as a potential cheap vet. Apparently, one team he will not be joining is the Portland Trail Blazers — despite rumors suggesting he could be brought in to bolster their frontcourt depth, according to Marc Stein.
- Another “Mid Three”-era Bulls alum, former two-time All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine, appears to be resigned to his fate as an overpaid vet on the Kings. LaVine and fellow former All-Star Domantas Sabonis are open to serving as advisors for rookie point guard Darius Acuff, the No. 7 pick in June’s 2026 NBA Draft, reports Anthony Slater of ESPN. Slater notes that LaVine and Sabonis both have spoken with Acuff already about integrating him into Sacramento.
- Health and his contract have prevented LaVine from being moved to a more winning situation. In just 39 healthy bouts for the 22-60 Kings last year, the 31-year-old averaged 19.2 points on .479/.390/.880 shooting splits, 2.8 boards and 2.3 dimes a night. LaVine is on an expiring $49 million deal for 2026-27. An efficient shooter, he was always a bit of a ball-hog in Chicago, with more serious programs. Under the tutelage of a more solid organization and on a more reasonable contract, LaVine might still be capable of contributing to winning basketball in an off-ball role.
- Stein and Jake Fischer report that Sacramento is apparently considering veteran former All-Star guards Russell Westbrook and Victor Oladipo to essentially serve as coaches on the floor for Acuff. Westbrook played on a veteran’s minimum for the Kings last year, and is currently an unrestricted free agent. The 2017 MVP averaged 15.2 points on 42.7 percent field goal shooting, 6.7 boards, and 5.4 swipes in 64 contests for the lowly Kings, but as usual was a defensive turnstile.
- Oladipo, a former two-time All-Star with the Indiana Pacers, has been out of the NBA since 2023. Last year, he looked positively pedestrian while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks’ NBA G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. Why the Kings are prioritizing either of these guys instead of taking a shot at younger players with upside, like Mathurin or Watson, remains unclear.
- In a stunner, the Phoenix Suns extended one-time All-Defensive Second Team small forward Dillon Brooks to a shockingly generous three-year, $73 million deal, his Klutch Sports agent Mike George tells Shams Charania of ESPN. He’s now under contract with Phoenix through 2029-30, his age-34 season. Beyond retaining incumbents Brooks, Mark Williams, Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin via long-term contracts during the offseason, the Suns also signed free agent sharpshooter Luke Kennard and traded for troubled forward Miles Bridges.
- Are any of these moves enough to help Phoenix move the needle into true Western Conference contention? Maybe not, but the club could conceivably win a playoff game again for the first time in four years next spring so… that’s something.
- FInally, some legendary Chicago Bulls icons are arriving in fresh Funko Pop toy iterations! The 1997-98 vintage of the best there ever was, the best there ever will be, and Benny the Bull will be forever commemorated in plastic. Granted, there is already a preponderance of different Funko Michael Jordans — but there’s always room for one more! No Washington Wizards-era GOATs are necessary, though.
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Alex Kirschenbaum has been a Chicago Bulls fan since before he was sentient or had object permanence. Before joining Bleacher Nation, he has written for Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Hoops Rumors, Trailers From Hell, Men’s Journal, and Bulls fan sites Blog-A-Bull and Pippen Ain’t Easy, among others. Alex is pretty sure that MJ did not push off Bryon Russell — and that Utah fans need to accept that.
